Victory

Book: Victory
Author: Susan Cooper
Audience: Grades 4-7
In a Nutshell: two kids, two centuries, one ship, and one set of memories shared

Molly Jennings misses England. Her mother married an American, and now Molly, her mother, and her new baby brother live on the East Coast. In the midst of missing home and friends, hating sailing, and hating her step-brother's obnoxious best friend, Molly stumbles across an old book about Vice-Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson, the hero of the Battle of Trafalgar. She's never been particularly interested in naval history, but she feels strangely drawn to this book. Hidden inside the cover, she is amazed to discover a piece of the flag flown over Nelson's ship at Trafalgar, the H.M.S. Victory. According to the note, it's been passed down from a boy who served with the Admiral in that fateful battle; his name was Sam Robbins. Molly begins to hear strange noises, see strange things, and remember bits of dreams that seem like memories; except she's never been at sea, and she's never been in battle. And the memories get stronger all the time.

Sam Robbins and his Uncle Charlie are press-ganged into the Royal Navy when Sam is only eleven- legally kidnapped when Her Majesty needed more sailors. Although it's a difficult adjustment from farm boy to the harsh life of a sailor, Sam grows to love the sea and, like all his shipmates, love Lord Nelson. He is proud and honored when Nelson makes Victory his flag ship for the coming battle against Napoleon's forces, but he's also scared; he's never seen real battle. He knows it won't be pretty, but nothing could prepare him for the horror and grief of what he witnesses.

Molly and Sam's stories come together in a dramatic battle climax as two characters separated by 200 years are joined by one scrap of flag and intense memories that mysteriously bridge the centuries.

British school children learn about Lord Nelson the way Americans learn about Abraham Lincoln, maybe- pick an iconic hero and you've got it. I admit, if someone had asked me about Nelson before I read this book, all I would've remembered was that he's the pigeon-covered guy on the column in Trafalgar Square (apologies to Mr. McKean, my European Civilizations teacher: you tried). So this story was a good history refresher disguised as a sea story for you fans of nautical adventures. There is also touching family drama as Molly comes to terms with her new home, stepdad and stepbrother, as well as finally, properly saying goodbye to her father, who died in a plane crash at sea several years earlier. All nicely tied together with a thread of mysterious fantasy.